Chevin woos UK channel for TeVista

Network management software firm looks to specialised networking resellers to sell multi-vendor product.

Chevin is seeking specialised networking resellers to become part of its UK Premier Partners programme. The network management software vendor is targeting the resellers to sell its multi-vendor TeVista software.

Koby Amedume, vice president of global marketing at Chevin, said: "We are offering high margins to those resellers that can show they can develop a business for our product."

Chevin sells about 90 per cent of its software through resellers and this is its first defined scheme aimed at the UK channel. The company's two-tier programme will sell directly to resellers which, according to Amedume, will give it more control over the partners with which it chooses to work.

"This product needs resellers that understand where it fits into a solution: it cannot be sold from a shelf. We have not yet found a distributor that can provide the required support," he said.

Owen Dukes, UK channel manager at internet security software maker SurfControl, which also uses a direct vendor-to-reseller model, said that resellers are the best way to create a market for new products.

"Distributors do not go out and create a market for you because they are reactive, not proactive. If you have a new product it is better to go direct to resellers," he explained.

Divided into three levels, Chevin's programme offers bespoke combinations of support, discounts with up to 50 per cent margins, lead generation, co-op marketing, technical support and training. Amedume maintained that the firm is not just signing partners to look good on paper, but is setting achievable sales targets.

"We will work with each partner and realistically plan sales growth rather than just set targets. We will then manage each partner's sales growth," he said.

The company said it is flexible about the amount of resellers it plans to partner with and that its door is open to all suitable applicants. "The number of resellers we will take on depends on what they can bring to the table," said Amedume.

Peter Reynolds, managing director at Chevin reseller Networks Unlimited, said: "Our market is specialised: resellers need experience to identify market needs and come up with the right solutions."